Media Prima Digital launches Malaysia's first e-sports campus tournament

Media Prima Digital's gaming and e-sports division MyGameOn has collaborated with Kitamen, and XPAX to launch an e-sports campus tournament, XPAX Kejohanan E-Sukan Kampus (KEK) 2019. The tournament is sponsored by XPAX in its initiative to support and empower e-sports among youths. Several brands such as Acer Predator, TODAK, Boost, Sades, Cadbury 5Star and Mountain Dew have also joined the cause in becoming sponsorship partners. XPAX KEK features three different popular games; Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES2019) and DOTA 2. The tournament runs from 8 March to 28 April, and took place in institutions of higher education such as Universiti Teknologi Petronas, UiTM Alor Gajah, and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. It will continue running in UiTM Puncak Alam on 6 and 7 April; Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin on 12 and 13 April, and the Grand Finals will take place on 27 and 28 April in Kuala Lumpur. XPAX KEK features the local "duo combo" e-sports commentators, Radzi “Ikuto” Rahman and Adam “SparTanker” Faiz in commentating for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Visitors are also entertained with performances by local artists such as Nabila Razali, Naim Daniel, Andi Bernadee, Ismail Izzani and Bittersweet. This e-sports tournament applies learning opportunities for visitors through its learning booths and talk forums, or sharing sessions with players from the gaming industry. Lifestyle elements are also applied such as food trucks, dance fitness and lucky draws exclusively for new and old XPAX members. Another element of KEK is the XPAX Hackathon E-Sukan challenge where the students are given a chance to share and present their fresh ideas to propose on cultivating the local e-sports industry. In a statement to A+M, Media Prima Digital's spokesperson said it is targeting IPTA students as public universities do not have much exposure to e-sports and gaming, especially those outside of the Klang Valley. Besides educating students on the benefits of a career in e-sports and gaming, Media Prima Digital also aims to find new talents from grassroots. "One of our goals is to unite all parties within the esports industry, to bring together brands, students, government bodies, media, and even parents. We feel there are a lot of assumptions and miscommunication surrounding the topic of gaming and we want to address this by gathering like minded people and to speak as one big voice," the spokesperson said. It will distribute XPAX KEK flyers at the universities two days prior to the tournaments to attract more crowds, as well as carry out promotions on TV and radio. “The commitment given by our main sponsor, XPAX, as well as the universities are very important in catalysing the esports industry here in Malaysia, hence shaping a healthy ecosystem that can instill the concept of ‘Healthy Gaming’ among university students across the nation,” said Rafiq Razali, CEO of Media Prima Digital. Danny Chew, chief consumer and home business officer of Celcom said: “Celcom, through XPAX, is thrilled to introduce KEK, in parallel with our aspiration to become the network provider of choice in fulfilling the digital lifestyle of our customers, especially local fans of esports. It also provides Malaysian youths the platform to empower themselves where they are able to improve their skills and eventually excel in the gaming world.”